The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1887-09-15

not think it wrong to caricature and jeer
the peculiar forms of religion in the
world, and denounce other sects and other
denominations. 1t is very often the case
that that kind of education acts opposite
to what it is expected, and the children
grow up, and, after awhile, go and see for
themselves; and looking into those
churches, and finding that the people are
good there, and they love God and keep
His commandments, by natural reaction
they go and join those very churches. /
could mention the names of prominent
ministers of the Gospel who have spent
their whole life bombarding other denomi-
nations, and who lived to see their children
preach the Gospel in those very denomi-
nations. But it is often the case that big
otry starts in a household, and that the
subject never RECEIVERS. There are tens of
thousands of bigots ten years old.
Look out for the man who sees only one
side of religious truth. Look out for the
man who never walks around about these
great theories of God and eternity and the
dead. He will be bigot inevitably-the
man who only sees one side. There is no
man more to be pitied than he who has in
his head just one idea-no more, no less.
More light, less sectarianism. There is
nothing that will so soon kill bigotry as
sunshine-God's sunshine.
So have I set before you what I con-
slider to be the causes of bigotry. / have
set before you the origin of this great evil.
What are some of the baneful effects? First
of all, it cripples investigation. You are
wrong and I am right, and that ends it.
No taste for exploration, no spirit of inves-
tigation. From the glorious realm of Gods
truth, over which an archangel might fly
from eternity to eternity and not reach
the limit, the man shuts himself out and
dies, a blind mole under corn-shock. 1t
stops all investigation.
While each denomination Of the
Christians is to present all the truths of
the Bible, it seems to me that God has
given to each denomination an especial
mission to give particular emphasis to
some one doctrine; and so the Calvinistic
churches must present the sovereignty of
GOO, and the Arminian churches must pre-
sent mans free agency, and the Episcopal
churches must present the Importance of
| order and solemn ceremony, and the
Baptist churches must present the neces-
| sity of ordinances. and the Congregation
al Church must present the responsibility
Methodist Church must show what holy
| enthusiasm, hearty congregational sing
| ing can accomplish. While each denomi-
nation of Christians must set forth all the
| doctrines of the Bible, feel it is especially
| incumbent upon each denomination to put
particular emphasis ON some one doctrine.
Another great damage done by the Sec
tarianism and bigotry of the church is that
| cfc NIT ba
| ligion. Now, my friends, the Church of
God was never intended for war barrack
People are afraid of riot. You go down
| the street, and you see an excitement
and missiles flying through the air, and
hear the shock of firearms. Do you, the
peaceful and industrious citizen, go through
that street? "Oh, mol" you will say; cpl
| go around the block" Now, men come and
look upon this narrow path to Heaven, and
sometimes see the ecclesiastical brickbats
flying every whittier, and they say
"Well, guess I'll take.the broad road; il
| it is so rough, and there is so much sharp
shooting on the narrow road, guess I'll
try the broad road"
Francis I. so hated the Lutherans that
he said if he thought there was one DROP
of Lutheran blood in his veins he would
|
just as long as there is so much hostility
between denomination and denomination
or between one protested Christian and an.
other, just so long men will be disguised
with the Christian religion, and say: 81
that is religion l want none of it."
Again, bigotry and sectarianism d.
great damage in the fact that they hinder
the triumph of the Gospel. Oh, how much
| vrroc fod
splendid intellect have given their whole
life to controversial disputes, when, il
they had given their life to some thine
practical they might have been vastly use
full. Suppose this morning, while 1 speak
there were common enemy coming VI
the bay through the Narrows, ant
all the forts around New Yorl
began to fire into each other, you would or,
out: National suicide! Why don't thos
forts blaze away in one direction, and tina
against the common enemy?" And yet
sometimes see in the Church of the Lore
Jesus Christ strange thing going on
church against church, minister agains
minister, denomination against denomina
ton, firing away into their own fort, O
the fort which ought to be on the sam
side, instead of concentrating their energ,
| ouA giving oiiO ullSuby duu ofefldSUIUl
volley against the navies of darkness
riding up through the bay.
Igo out sometimes in the summer, and
find two beehives, and these two beehive
are in quarrel. 1 come near enough, no
to be stung, but come just near enough t.
hear the controversy, and one beehiv
says: "That field of clover is tn
sweetest" and another beehive says
"This field of clover is the sweetest.
come in between them and 1 say
"Stop this quarrel; if you like thi
field of clover best, go there; if you lik
that field of clover best, go there: but lie
me tell you that that hive whicl
gets the most honey is the best hive" s
l come out between the churches of tn
Lord Jesus Christ. One denomination O
Christians says: 'That field of Christian
doctrine is best;" and another says
"This field of Christian doctrine is best
Well, l say: $50 where you get the mos
honey" That is the best church which
gets the most honey of Christian grace TO
the heart, and the most honey of Christian
usefulness for the life.
Besides that, if you want to build up an,
denomination,y you will never build it up b,
trying to pull some other down. Intoler
ance never put ANYTHING down. How